10 questions with Tim Daly

In more than two decades broadcasting Stockton's triumphs and tragedies, Tim Daly has come to know this town pretty well.

Alex Breitler

In more than two decades broadcasting Stockton's triumphs and tragedies, Tim Daly has come to know this town pretty well.

And that's the way he likes it.

In the transient television news business, where many reporters are itching to move to the next larger market, Daly instead dropped roots in Stockton, where he and his wife, Barbara, bought a home and raised twin daughters Annie and Laura.

Here, he found community.

Which explains why the 5 p.m. News 10 broadcast isn't the only place you'll find Daly.

You'll find him hosting benefit breakfasts. You'll find him and Barbara producing a video - on their own time - introducing the world to the real people of Stockton.

"It just came to me - why not a video that just shows us as a regular town with regular people?" said Daly, 54. "You've probably noticed over the last year a different attitude in this town among people who want positive change. I just sense you can only be tired of the stuff that goes on for so long, and you do something. What we did by no means is meant to match what some of these groups are doing to help neighborhoods and families, but it was a way we could contribute."

Question: Why Stockton?

Answer: I've been in this business more than 30 years. First stop was Santa Rosa. I went to El Paso after that, and Tucson after that, and Portland after that, and then here. But this is where we bought our first home, this is where our kids grew up, had friends, went to school, and I was tired of moving. So this is just where it worked out.

Q: Does it help your coverage, having stuck around so long?

A: Absolutely. I don't know everybody in this town, but I'm starting to feel like I know half the people. Everywhere I go I bump into someone I've interviewed, or I know them because of their role in the community. That helps you become a better reporter. If you're only going to be someplace for a year, it's easy to take shots. It's easier to be careless. If you don't have any sense of community, you don't care whose toes you stepped on.

Q: As one of two Stockton-based News 10 reporters, you must get pulled in a lot of directions. Ever feel overwhelmed?

A: Remember the Quail Lakes fire? I was up in San Andreas that day covering a planning directors meeting. Everybody's calling me, "How about that fire?" My wife is worried the fire is going to hit us. So the station had to send somebody down (from Sacramento). That's just one of the things that can happen. We're expected to be ready to roll at any moment, on anything. So yes, it can be overwhelming. Last year, crime became for us an issue - let's look into causes and solutions. We really took that seriously. There was a time when you heard the scanners going - God, all summer and fall, it was insane. How many shootings you heard, how many people were hit. The times of day - 10 a.m., noon, 2 in the afternoon. It didn't matter.

Q: Do you find covering that kind of news upsetting?

A: You have to detach yourself. You can't get wrapped up. Obviously, you're viewing human tragedy and if you let that get to you, you won't be in this business for long. If there's a mom or dad who just came home and found out their kid was shot in a drive-by, it's awful. At the same time you just keep reminding yourself to do your job and do it well, professionally.

Q: Tell us about the video you and Barbara produced.

A: The reaction around town has been great. It's funny - the idea came to me listening to that song ("Home," by Phillip Phillips) because it's so catchy. I didn't even think about the words. I liked the idea of putting on as many faces as possible just to show someone who wonders about this town - "My God, what's going on there?" - if they find this video, they're going to say, "Oh, it looks like my town."

Q: What else do you do in the community?

A: I host a lot of events, like for the Red Cross or the Family Resource and Referral Center. I did the trivia bee a couple of weeks ago. You want to see a funny event? I was the spellmaster. They bring in kids from all over the state, and I read the words and they spell them. I have to give the correct pronunciation. So one kid called me out on one of the words. This 11-year-old, from Bakersfield. He called me out and I had to say, "You're right, kid, I got that one wrong." But it's a lot of fun doing that stuff.

Q: What's been your favorite or most interesting story?

A: When I was in Portland I got to go to Vietnam for two weeks, and this was in the mid- to late-'80s before anybody's going to Vietnam as a tourist. In fact, the state department discouraged our trip. In this market, the Ellie Nesler story. It was just like a Grisham book, when someone takes the law into their own hands. That's what she did. She was a character. She gave a ton of interviews, she liked my reporting of her situation so she then started giving me exclusive interviews on this or that. It was an impossible story not to pay attention to.

Q: Here's where we'll have fun with you: Most embarrassing moment on live TV?

A: A complete brain-stoppage. It's happened twice, and it terrifies you for the next year. The first time I could not come up with the word "life-threatening." I just stood there and looked into the camera. Even if it was only three seconds it felt like an hour. It happened again covering a huge fire up in Tuolumne County. They came to me live, and - nothing. It's awful. I also swore once on the air, live. That was in El Paso. I was brought into the owner's office the next day and told, "If that ever happens again you're gone." I was anchoring and had tossed to a reporter in the field who was going to start talking about something. His mic was off - guess whose mic was still on?

Q: Those are the only incidents that come to mind in a 30-plus year career?

A: Oh, there's been plenty of bloopers. I couldn't say "mechanization" in El Paso. I'm anchoring, and I hadn't previewed scripts, and I came across "mechanization." I kept trying to say, "mechani - mechani -" and the weather guy hears me, he says, "MECHANIZATION!" Finally somebody helped me out.

Q: The real question is how the word "mechanization" got in television news copy in the first place.